In a statement that some have dubbed a hot take, popular streamer and former esports pro, Shroud, has suggested that ARC Raiders is bigger than Fortnite. He suggested that, going forward, Embark Studios’ extraction shooter will be bigger than the likes of Fortnite, VALORANT, and Apex Legends, prompting many to doubt his knowledge of ball.
Shroud has found plenty of success streaming ARC Raiders since the game dropped on October 30, but this latest comment is a tricky one, and it has fans debating how serious the content creator was.
Will ARC Raiders Be Bigger Than Fortnite?
During a recent stream, Shroud plainly stated:
This game is definitely the biggest game since Fortnite for sure. The only other game I can think of along the way is maybe like VALORANT and Apex. But I think this game is bigger than both those games and will be bigger as time goes on.
It was a hot take, and it has since been met with some ridicule, even from fans of ARC Raiders.
The extraction adventure title, which was released by Embark Studios on October 30, has proven to be one of the biggest hits of 2025. It’s one of the most popular extraction games ever made, and two months after release, it is effortlessly retaining enormous player counts across all platforms where other, similar games have faltered and fallen.
To say it’s bigger than Fortnite is a stretch, though. It’s no big secret that Fortnite is the most successful live-service shooter of all time, and the most popular battle royale title ever created. It has peaked at more than 40 million concurrent players, while ARC Raiders has managed a peak concurrent user count of 481,000 on Steam.
Embark Studios remains committed to expanding and evolving ARC Raiders and has already pushed out some engaging events and updates since the game dropped. Before ARC Raiders dropped, Embark Studios pledged years of support, and it’s easy to see that happening given what we already know about the game.
Do you think ARC Raiders will be ‘bigger than Fortnite’? Let us know what you’re thinking on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Katsuhiro Harada has officially left Tekken
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
No. This guy says a lot of wrong and crazy takes. Canadian
Arc raider have gun small explosive it good but comparing to fornite that change there whole weapons loadout we each season let not forget took over guitarhero and rockband companies made mode to play even they lego minecraft is better each season star wars good now they doing ninjago they literally have fall guy mode, and good bootleg mario cart let not forget they a better roblox than actual roblox 🤷🏽♂️game good not let get crazy about taking over fortnite
I mean a guy can dream,
I used to play Fortnite in high school but as I got older I now sorta disdain people older than 21 and still playing Fortnite or even worse Roblox.
Unfortunately no standalone game could truly shake those two in a short time.
If Arc Raiders could become the ‘new’ Fortnite it would do so over a span of years, but its highly improbable since the core gameplay is different.
Fortnite is a Battle Royale, the crux of its gameplay is basicallly the same every time, go in, get gun, fight. Winning or losing doesnt mean much
Arc is an Extraction Shooter, where to me personally the goal is looting cool things to craft/upgrade and completing quests with the added fun of occasional pvp (Loot Goblin faction).
To me Arc hits exactly the kind of Balance that has the potential to keep me playing for years, provided they add more upgrades, craftables, loot variety.
However in Arc I feel bad if I kill someone in solos, like Arc is the one game where I just feel like a dick for wanting to shoot someone which isnt fun for me, so I just stick to the looting aspect (Unless they attack me first then I will happily slam any Murder Hobo).
Case in point if a highly competitive tactical shooter lover like myself feels guilty for fighting then I feel doubt the game will develop much into a PVP direction.
And if that becomes its main focus then its playerbase will not be fun, I already noticed since the game almost definitely features aggression based matchmaking meaning during the month I played I got almost entirely placed in Loot Goblin lobbies where very very rarely I would die to a player, then as soon as I tried trios twice, and went back to solos I got attacked on sight about 11 games in a row and lost nearly my entire inventory of happily hoarded loot.
Tl;Dr Arc is too different to shake Fortnite but hopefully it will keep growing, also someone check on Dexter, I think he had a stroke 💀
Game is way too toxic unfortunately. If they don’t release a PvE mode it will have maxed out already.